AFP: Jordan's King Abdullah II said in comments published here Thursday that his declarations about a Shiite "crescent" were "blown out of proportion" by certain quarters in Iran.
"My statements on the Shiite crescent were blown out of proportion by some in Iran and interpreted to the contrary of my intentions," said the monarch in an interview with Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper.

New York Times: Iran has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors from the United Nations into a major military complex that the United States has long suspected of being a secret site for nuclear weapons development, officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday.

Iran Focus: Paris, Jan. 06  An Iranian human rights exhibition was opened for the second time in Paris yesterday depicting human rights violations in Iran since the 1979 revolution.
The event was sponsored by some 34 European human rights organisations and will be open to the general public until next week.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 05  There are more than 600,000 illiterate people in East Azerbaijan province (northwest Iran), according to the head of Literacy Front of East Azerbaijan.
This figure represents seventeen percent of the provinces population, Mokhtar Mohammadian said.

AFP: The UN atomic agency will visit "within the next few weeks" the Parchin military facility in Iran where the US charges that Tehran is carrying out simulation testing of atomic weapons, the agency's chief Mohamed ElBaradei told AFP Wednesday.
"We expect to visit Parchin within the next few weeks," ElBaradei said.
ElBaradei's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been seeking to visit Parchin since July.

AFP: Iraqi Defence Minister Hazem al-Shaalan took a fresh swipe at Iran, accusing it of being mainly responsible for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, in statements published here Wednesday.
"We have a strong belief that Iran is the main accused in the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq, such as illegal entry, smuggling of arms and means of sabotage," he told Emirati newspaper Al-Bayan.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 05  A young man was killed by agents of Irans State Security Forces (SSF) in the town of Sanandaj (western province of Kurdistan) after he came to the aid of a young woman being assaulted by the SSF agents earlier this week.

Washington Times: Iran's increasing meddling in Iraq and its defiance in its nuclear weapons program pose the greatest challenge to peace and security in Iraq and the whole Middle East, as we enter 2005. By sending thousands of Revolutionary Guards and intelligence agents into Iraq, as well as spending hundreds of millions of dollars to recruit mercenaries and enlist support among destitute and impoverished Iraqis, Tehran is hell-bent on steering the Jan. 30 elections in its favor.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 - A demonstration was held today by over 500 nurses in Shiraz (capital of the southern Fars province in Iran).
The majority of nurses from both public and private hospitals in Shiraz took part in the demonstration which was held from day-brake in Faculty of Medicine in the University of Shiraz.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 - A homeless man was eaten alive by wild wolves in the village of Vali-Asr, near the town of Torbat Heydariya (northeast Iran), Sunday evening. Witnesses at the scene said that they phoned emergency services for help and attempted to fight off the wolves until police arrived but failed as the police did not show up.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 - A member of Irans Majlis (parliament) today admitted to the systematic use of excess force by security forces against citizens. Fakhroldin Heydari, a Majlis deputy from the town of Baneh (northwest Iran) revealed that two individuals in his constituency were shot and killed by aggressive security forces in the past month alone and a number of others were badly wounded.

Iran Focus: Cairo, Jan. 04  Iraqs Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan rejected the idea of direct dialogue with Iran yesterday, saying that Iran had no interest in dialogue and only sought to destabilise Iraq. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gaith, Shaalan also hinted that Iraq should postpone its January 30th general election if Sunni groups who have threatened to boycott the election were willing to participate in one set for a later date.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 - Students from the University of Tabriz (northwestern Iran) have continued their protest on campus following the deans decision to suspend two student union spokespersons.
The demonstration by a large number of students started Monday morning.

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 04 - The head of Irans Office to Combat Smuggled Goods estimated that nearly $6 billion of all foreign imports come from the black-market every year and hinted at widespread government corruption as the cause.

Iran Focus Analysis: Tehran, Jan. 03  Candidates set to stand in Irans June 17th presidential elections are seen by many Iran experts as right-wing extremists loyal to hardline Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Several of them, including former heads of Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have announced their candidacy for president.

UPI: Officials of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said Monday they see no justification for Iran's nuclear program and are skeptical about it.
GCC Secretary-General Abdel Rahman Attiya was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Watan as saying, "Saudi Arabia and the other GCC countries can't find any justification for such nuclear activity which poses great dangers for all the peoples in the Gulf region."

Iran Focus: Tehran, Jan. 03 - Angry residents in Tehrans 17th district blockaded the main freeway on Saturday protesting against the unsafe conditions which regularly result in fatal accidents.
Protesters stopped all traffic flowing on the Javaneh freeway between the 17th and 19th districts in the Iranian capital.